Archive for the ‘NBA’ Category

Cleveland Cavaliers center Shaquille O’Neal has sat out the last 6 games with a sore shoulder but make no mistake, he is doing anything but sitting. Last week Shaq played Santa Claus, or as he calls it “Shaq-A-Claus”, to the youth of northeast Ohio. He went to the Toys R Us in Mayfield and filled more than a dozen shopping carts with toys from all over the store. All of the toys bought by Shaq will be donated to the Toys for Tots organization. He has been doing this for about 15 years and credits his mother and father for getting him started with the organization.

“About 15 years ago, my mother and father ordered me to go to a Toys ‘R’ Us and buy toys and give them out to kids,” he said. “I got a call from my mother and she said, ‘Boy, get your butt up, go down to the store and buy some gifts for the kids.”

That’s not all Shaq has been up to though. Last week he paid for the funeral of 5 year old Shaniya Davis of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Her body was found on the side of the highway and her mother is charged with human trafficking and child abuse involving prostitution. Mario McNeil is being charged with murder, rape and kidnapping. I think, in addition to the funeral, we lock those 2 sick fucks in a room with the Diesel and let him go to town on them.

I can’t tell you how happy it makes me as a fan to see one of our players step up and help out. When these guys go out of their way to put a smile on a childs face or lift a family that has fallen it restores my faith in humanity. On this Thanksgiving I am thankful there are still people in this world who know right from wrong, good from bad and have a moral compase that always points north. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

After last nights game against the Miami Heat, LeBron James made a statement no one saw coming. Relax, I’m not talking about the 2010 free agency, but I am talking about his future. LeBron said after the game that he would be switching his number from the historic 23 to his Olympic number 6 in honor of the best basketball player of all time Michael Jordan. Jordan also happened to be sitting courtside along with Scottie Pippen to which the gifted analysts of TNT suggested might be a subliminal message for LeBron to join forces with D Wade. Seriously guys, read a newspaper, read some stats sheets and get your heads in the game so the rest of the nation doesn’t have to mute the TV when you open your mouths. Back to the point, LeBron thinks that no player should wear the number in the NBA and says he’s starting a petition for it.

“He can’t get the logo, and if he can’t, something has to be done. I feel like no NBA player should wear 23. I’m starting a petition, and I’ve got to get everyone in the NBA to sign it. Now, if I’m not going to wear No. 23, then nobody else should be able to wear it.”

I totally agree here. No one else should be able to wear it and no one else wearing it right now can even be mentioned in the same breath as LeBron. I think anyone who decides they will not change there number will be seen as a sort of black sheep for the NBA and probably be called out for it on numerous occasions. I’m sure ESPN will also over analyze it as well. This also stinks for those couple people with the LBJ jerseys. It also sucks for the nerds at Nike who will have to come up with another logo for King James.

The decision for James switch to number 6 isn’t really shocking. He has worn it in the Olympics and has been wearing it in practice too. If you remember, Kobe did it a few years ago when he changed from number 8 to number 24 and MJ did it himself when he switched briefly to 45. James explained the significance of the number in saying.

“My second-favorite player was Julius Erving, and he wore No. 6,” James said. “I wore 32 in high school because Dr. J wore it at first. My first child was born on Oct. 6, it’s my Olympic number, my second child was born in June.”

Of course, this all just could be LeBron taking the heat off of his teammate who took a standing tea bag from Dwayne Wade last night. Varejao, we’re looking at you.

The Cavaliers won their third straight game on Tuesday night, beating the Washington Wizards 102-90. They really took charge in the closing minutes of the 2nd quarter where they trimmed an 18 point deficit down to 4 at the half. They came out piping hot in the 2nd half and they took their turn by going up by as much as 16 at one point. Lebron James led scoring with 27 while Big Witness Protection put up a season high 21 points. The Cavaliers continued to stay hot from behind the arc, combining for 9 three pointers in the second half. Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas led the Wizards with 22 points a piece.What might be even more great about this game is the new defense that Anderson Varejao imposed. Apparently, it is most effective while he is on the bench. It’s very easy to run and it seems to be working perfectly thus far. The way it works is while on the bench, Varejao whips out his nipple and makes faces. This is meant to distract the opposing team which results in either missed shots or steals. Brilliant really.

Mayor Oscar Goodman wants an NBA team in Vegas really bad. This has been an on going idea/plan for years now and it took a step in the right direction this week. In his weekly press conference, a hopefully sober Mayor Goodman announced plans to have the Las Vegas City Council look at an exclusive contract with the Baltimore based real estate developers The Cordish Companies. The contract would have give the Cordish Companies exclusive rights to study the feasibility of this 18-acre project. The Cordish Companies past work includes The Walk in Atlantic City, Ballpark Village in St. Louis and the Power and Light District in Kansas City, Mo.

This is all fine and dandy, but lets be honest here, this is nothing more than Vegas giving someone exclusive rights to STUDY a possible sports venue. Goodman said he really wants a basketball team because that’s the sport he loves. Time out. When did his best interest become the cities best interest? For me, I would love to have any professional sports team to root for here in Sin City albeit an MLS team or an NHL team. I could get on board with that easily since all we have right now are the minor league teams The Las Vegas Wranglers (hockey) and the Las Vegas 51’s (Triple A for the Blue Jays). Don’t paint me a hater on those teams though, they have phenomenal $1 beer nights, but there is something about having a professional hometown team that just sparks the interest. The mentality that Oscar Goodman has taken on is “if we build it, they will come”. During his press conference, Goodman said he has been working hard to get NBA officials and owners interested in the idea saying:

“I believe as soon as we have an arena — this is my belief, I have nothing thatis signed in blood, there’s no contract — but I believe we’ll have a team”

Yikes. What happens when/if we build this arena and no one is interested? What happens if funding falls out like so many of the partially completed hotel/casinos we have to look at on a daily basis? Do the city you represent a favor and get the TEAM before you build the Arena. If we can lock down a team, they can play in the 19,000 seat Thomas & Mack Center while their arena is constructed. In these economic times it seems a little irresponsible to spend money to build something in hopes of attracting a tenant. On a final note, if you are contracting someone to do a study on the arena, can you also contract someone to do a study on the traffic created? Maybe have the roads and lanes created before the arena is done so we aren’t sitting in traffic even more than we are now. Thanks Oscar, have another one on Thunder Treats. Scotch, right?

The wait is almost over until another great season is upon us. Last year, we all witnessed LeBron and Kobe’s fantastic performances night in and night out while they both were vying for the coveted MVP trophy. LeBron came out on top with his first MVP trophy after a very tight race. Dwight Howard was a monster in the paint, having block parties on a nightly basis while taking home his first Defensive Player of the Year award. Derrick Rose was the obvious choice for Rookie of the Year, leading his team to a 7 game series vs. the defending champion Boston Celtics that no one will soon forget. But that’s enough about last year’s award winners, its time to put the trophies in their respective cases and get down to business. That business is the new season that starts in less than 4 weeks. Here are my predictions on what players will be taking home the hardware this year.

6th Man Award: J. R Smith

Coach of the Year: Nate McMillan

Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin

Most Improved Player: Greg Odon. (Brandon Wright was my first choice until he got injured last week.)

NBA teams are starting up their training camps this week and I think I can speak for all Cleveland fans when I say THANK GOD. Reason being is that it seems the abysmal Browns and Indians have been playing for the #1 overall pick in their respective drafts. I am looking forward to seeing how the Cavaliers respond to one of the best seasons in franchise history. I am also looking to see how they respond to Big Shaq Diesel entering the lineup. Have a good camp guys, and hurry up with the season already. This video should get everyone overly excited for the upcoming season.

This is hysterical. If these tapes had not been confiscated, I don’t think anyone would have made a big deal about the situation. I don’t know if my eyes are decieving me or not but that looks nothing like the “windmill dunk” that was reported to have happened. Maybe it was just to get more hype and buzz about LeBron (like he needs it). Any how, TMZ.com has got ahold of the footage and here is the link to it. Enjoy. Way to go TMZ.com.

The video above is from Ebaum Nation and gives us another look at the dunk. Still weak.